Arcadia to close 31 stores, 700 jobs lost

Arcadia, Sir Phillip Green’s retail empire, is set to close another 31 stores after going into administration in November, which will reportedly result in the loss of 700 jobs.

The latest round of closures, which was first reported by The Times, will include the closure of all 21 of the group’s Outfit stores.

Outfit was acquired by Arcadia in 1999 and sells items from all of Arcadia’s retail brands in out-of-town destinations for shoppers.

Green’s Arcadia, which owns Topshop and Dorothy Perkins, collapsed into administration last year after it saw a drastic sales drop at the onset of the pandemic due to temporary store closures.

At the time of appointing administrators, the group had 444 stores in the UK, resulting in around 13,000 jobs being at risk. Deloitte is now assisting Arcadia with the administration process and is “assessing all options available” to the group.

Industry experts believe the group could be broken up in the process, with potential bidders acquiring Arcadia’s various brands and parts of the business. 

Next is allegedly the lead bidder in the race to buy Arcadia Group out of administration, however. The high street retailer, which is headed by Simon Wolfson, is said to be bidding for the group with US hedge fund Davidson Kempner.

The deadline for final bids was 18 January, with business insiders reporting Arcadia could sell for £200m.